Barnet FC have informed the National League of damage said to have been caused by Wealdstone supporters when the two clubs met at The Hive last Saturday.
It’s a sad day in football when we have to put out a report such as this.
Matters on the pitch to one side, what should have been a great day for Wealdstone FC has been marred by a handful of Wealdstone supporters who have behaved in a disgraceful manner, with no regard to people or property and have carried out a large number of criminal incidents, the like of which we as a Club, have not seen before.
Without going into full details as it would create too long an article, below is a high-level summary of events, a nine page report of which has been provided to Wealdstone FC.
- Racial abuse of two stewards
- Four pyrotechnics ignited, three of which were thrown towards the pitch
- Several fans drinking alcohol in view of the pitch
- Multiple stewards threatened with violence
- A full bottle with the lid intact thrown directly at the Barnet Goalkeeper
- Ceiling tiles ripped from the ceiling in the away end toilets and smashed
- Virtually every seat in the cubicles ripped off and smashed in the away end toilets
- Hand gel and hand washing receptacles ripped from the wall in the away end toilets and smashed
- Air conditioning ducting ripped from the area above the ceiling tiles in the away end toilets and pulled down
- Electrical wiring providing lighting to the toilets pulled down and torn away leaving live wires hanging down towards a wet and slippery floor
- All wall heaters in the away end toilets left on but with no lighting and a wet floor provided a serious fire hazard
- The toilet area and Bar 66 covered in Wealdstone Stickers
- Every cubicle had large toilet rolls forced down the bowls preventing use of the toilets and in one case caused flooding
- A bottle and two other pieces of plastic thrown at Mr. Bumble
- Stadium seats damaged, in some cases irreparably with chunks of seats missing
There were multiple ejections and arrests for the above and charges for criminal damage and criminal charges under football legislation were served.
We have had many teams with problematic reputations attend the Hive over the years and all have left the ground as they found it, thanking Barnet FC staff for giving them such a great facility.
The Club has written to Wealdstone FC and the League regarding this matter.